Acts of Selflessness
by Lacelette
Summary: Sarah goes to England to Au pair for the perfect family. But she's left to face the Labyrinth again after her best friend unwittingly says the wrong thing and wishes little Alice away. Will she decipher Jareth's new attitude and make it out alive?
1. Chapter 1: Prelude

**My first ever submission! Let's begin with this:**

**I DO NOT OWN LABYRINTH. This is merely a pure work of fiction based on ©Jim Henson's film. Bless his soul. **

**Now that's out of the way. Let it be known, I am not a professional writer. And if you spot anything I can improve on, please do critique away. (Rated M for things to come... Hurr hurr!) Thank you for reading! **

**1. Prelude**

"Eevie? Eevie! Eevie, where are you?"

"I'm up here, Sarah! I'm on my way!" Sarah heard her friend yell from an upstairs room. She was supposed to be at the Petersons' by six, but instead here she was, waiting for this wayward girl instead. _Really!_ She thought.

She heard a crash and a few sputtered profanities, followed by Evelyn stumbling out of the room and onto the stairs. She was carrying her favorite beige flowered bag, stuffed with all sorts of unknown little things Sarah was afraid to ask about. It was huge and beige, obviously. And all over it sprinkled a pink rose pattern. The color and sheer size of it always reminded Sarah of a big brown paper potato bag. But considering the things she had seen yanked from it, she'd have sworn it was much rather a sort of magic portal.

Eevee was a strange creature herself. She always wore a skirt with canvas sneakers, no matter what. If it were cold, like England usually was at this time of year, she would just wear thermal tights with all sorts of screaming patterns underneath the skirt. She had short, ash brown, mousy hair that always curled in awkward directions, and big blue eyes. The girl herself was quite small and petite in stature, and could easily be mistaken for a child.

Sarah met Eevee while pub-crawling in London during her first week in England, and they'd become quite inseparable in the past nine or ten months since Sarah's arrival there. Sarah thanked her stars for sending someone as brave as Eevee on her path, because heaven only knows that without her, she would surely have died climbing on the wrong train or being punched up by some moronic boy racer.

Eevee was quite capable despite her size, and Sarah had even heard rumors of the girl "dealing" with a group of chavs. She'd have paid to see something like that.

The girls made their way out of the house, rushing to get to their next destination. They traveled on foot in the cold November night, but they were fretting and running so fast that they barely felt the cold stinging their eyes and nostrils.

Mr. Peterson was rather particular on punctuality, and Sarah never dared to run even a second late. That was partly because it was her job not to be late, and also because she was secretly scared knickerless of him. He was not particularly rude or violent, nor was he unforgiving or cruel… He was just the kind of person you found yourself so deeply respecting.

Sarah Williams came to England shortly after her twentieth birthday. While in her final year of school, she decided to take a year or so off before commencing with her studies. Because frankly, she didn't know what it was that she wanted to study. And it annoyed her stepmother to no end. But here she was, already twenty, and still unsure of what to do with herself. She could follow her mother's path and become an actress- she did quite enjoy theatre ever since she was young… Despite recently realizing that it was just an obsession with not wanting to let go of her mother. Maybe she could even go into fine arts. One thing was for sure: Sarah Williams vehemently refused to become an office worker.

"Sarah! Sarah, we're almost there!" Eevee gasped between her panting, sending snow white clouds of vapor twirling in the air.

"I'm so dead! It's already almost six-twenty!" Sarah yelped in reply. _Shit!_ She thought. _I'm cowpoop! _

"I'm sorry!" Eevee squealed in apology. "Maybe he won't be bothered! He's not a cruel person!"

"That's not exactly the point, Eevee!"

Her jeans did little to keep out the chilling cold air rushing by her legs as she ran, but her red shirt, thermals and prison-striped scarf at least kept her warm. Her jacket was still at the Petersons' since yesterday, where she had forgotten it. It was her day off, and she had slept over at Eevee's without bothering to take it along.

They ran and ran, and finally reached the Petersons' front steps. Sarah opened the door, and sure enough, there he was. Mr. Peterson was standing in front of her with his arms crossed over his chest.


	2. Chapter 2: The Perfect Family

**I thought I'd add a few chapters at once to get the story started. I'm sorry for making this one so descriptive!**

**I do not own Labyrinth. The Labyrinth and all its associated characters are (c) Jim Henson.**

**2. The Perfect Family**

Sarah gulped hard. She had faced many things in her life, but few things could compare to the utter horror she felt right at this moment. Actually, only one could. And he was in a far away world, long since silenced by her herself.

"I'm so so so sorry I'm late! Things at home kind of ran amuck and…!" She said, making Eevie blush in shame. Mr. Peterson was a tall man, despite being English. And he was neatly dressed in black slacks, a white shirt and a black tie. No doubt he was taking the Missus to the opera again. For a second her panic gave way to envy.

He wore black rectangular glasses, and had short dark ebony hair. And was quite much to look at, considering he wasn't much older than the girls.

"It's six-twenty-five, my dear girl. You're more than twenty minutes late." He said in a tone that Sarah was unsure how to place. "I know, I'm so sorry. You can take it off my pay, its only fair." She said, trying to look as ashamed as possible.

"We can talk about that later, right now we need to get going. Blair, dear, are you ready?"

"Coming." Mrs. Peterson came walking out of the next room, looking as beautiful as ever. She was small and petite herself, much like Eevee. And she was wearing a gorgeous plain black dress that hung to her ankles, with a halter neck that tied neatly into a ribbon under the few blonde twirls of hair that would not fit into her hairstyle. It was bunched up and kept together by a golden hairclip, swirling with intricate engraved details. They made their way out the door to the car, when Mr. Peterson turned back.

"I don't know what time we'll be back, so don't wait up for us. There's a party at the Hewletts' later, we might decide to go." He said to Sarah while grabbing the coat he forgot.

"Right, gotcha. Enjoy your night!" Sarah smiled, to which her boss returned a dashing smile himself. When the door closed, Eevee flopped down on the stairs.

"That man is just…" she started, and Sarah knew exactly what she meant.

"Your employers are just about the most stunning and perfect couple in the whole world." She said dreamily. And she was right. They were.

The Petersons were rich, beautiful, kind… And they had the perfect little daughter of three years, Alice. And little Alice was the whole start of Sarah's adventure so far. Sarah was au pairing in London for two ears, and the Petersons had been her employers since the beginning. She was grateful that she had such a kind family to work for, and she loved Alice like she loved her own little brother, Toby.

_How I miss Toby._ She thought. And not a second later, little Alice came running into the living room in her Tinkerbell pajamas, squealing "Saaaaaawaaaaaaaahhh!!!" and nearly bending her leg the wrong way as she jumped on it.

"Hey there, Princess! How are you?" she asked as she picked the little blonde girl up. Eevee nearly nosebled. She adored Alice - simply because she was a Peterson, and she was just as beautiful as one.

"I'm well, thank you!" she said and dug her shy face into Sarah's neck. She was a polite little girl, and her intelligence allowed her to have a rather large vocabulary at her age. But politeness and intelligence were no competition for her beauty – more specifically, her eyes.

"That's good! Have you eaten yet?" Sarah asked and made her way to the kitchen for a bite herself.

"Nope!" the little beauty shook her head. "Do you like my new pajamas?" she asked, proudly stretching out her frilly little Tinkerbell dress so Sarah could see it.

"It's lovely! Did you choose it yourself?" Sarah smiled.

"Yep! Mommy got it for me. We went to the shop today!"

Sarah chuckled at her cuteness, and set her in her chair to fix dinner. The kitchen was like something out of a magazine. The walls were plain white, but the cupboards and cabinets were of dark mahogany. Coupled with the creamy tiles and low-lit spotlights, it was more cozy than Sarah's own bedroom. The sink was Sarah's favorite, though. It was shinier than new, and often had her wondering whether the Petersons had a new sink for each day because it never seemed to weather.

The rest of the rooms in the house were also all of warm, neutral colors, with light brown carpets and wooden trimmings on the furniture and construction. Mrs. Peterson obviously loved vintage, because she stuck lace everywhere she could without making the home look tacky. And she had an entire collection of small statuettes of prim ladies in ball gowns, all neatly positioned and displayed in a big wooden cabinet with glass doors that stood in the small living room. Looking at the ladies always reminded Sarah of the books she used to read, and she'd imagine them in their big stately houses, flitting from person to person at a tea party in their enormous back garden… with dresses that, beautiful as they were, always looked so uncomfortably puffy. Those people always had all the time in the world, and they always had time to host a party of some sort. There were always twenty housekeepers and twenty more gardeners. Where the hell did these people get all their money?

When she realized that her thoughts were running wild again, Sarah shook her head and finished her long journey of five paces to the refrigerator.

Upon approaching it, she noticed the little piece of paper stuck to it:

"Food's in the microwave. Take care! -Mrs. P. :-)"

She stood still, staring at the note for a second._ This house really is too perfect… _


	3. Chapter 3: Vile

**Chapter number three! This one goes a bit ooky, though! Bowels abound! Please R&R! **

**I do not own The Labyrinth. It, with all its associated characters, is ©Jim Henson.**

**3. Vile **

After Alice was fed and happy, Eevee kept her company while Sarah cleaned up. Standing at the kitchen sink, she looked up at her reflection in the window. Classic. It was like looking at a photograph, framed with fine teardrop-patterned lace curtains. Sarah had grown up quite a bit, she noted. Maybe it was just the perfect air that made her look so good in the reflection. She giggled and finished up.

Making her way to the living room, she saw Eevee and Alice playing with a big dollhouse on the floor.

"Ba-bang!" Eevee exclaimed, making sound effects with her doll. "I'm the evil Goblin King, and I've come to take away the baby!"

Sarah froze and felt her entire body go pale. _Did she just…?_

"No! Leave my house!" Alice said dramatically, and attacked Eevee's doll with hers. "You'll never get my baby, you bad man!" She giggled and fidgeted around in the dollhouse again. Sarah felt her stomach turn. Eevee turned around to see Sarah white as a sheet, immediately dropping the doll and running up to her.

"Are you alright? Sarah! Sarah look at me!" she panicked, shaking Sarah. Alice stopped playing and looked at Sarah, terrified. She was just staring at the little girl – her intestines desperately trying to escape her body. She felt queasy, and her vision started to fade, making everything she saw into grotesque, otherworldly shapes. She felt a tear roll down her cheek as her throat expanded to make place for the inevitable return of her dinner. She darted off to the nearest flushing point – which was the kitchen sink – and felt her stomach forcing its way out of her, crashing onto the shiny surface and spattering into every direction, sending chunks of what was once food flying and sticking to the sides of the sink. She could barely draw any breath before her body once again convulsed and shot another heap of bile splatting into the sink.

Eevee stood mortified, covering Alice's view. She watched her friend as she helplessly drained her body, utterly confused about what was happening. When Sarah had finally finished, her limp body collapsed onto the kitchen floor, where she sat weakly gasping for air. Eevee went up to her, giving her a kitchen towel to clean herself up with while she rinsed out the sink. Everything was silent, even little Alice, who was close to tears of confusion.

"You alright?" Eevee's shaky voice pierced the silence.

Sarah stared at the floor, rather embarrassed. "Yeah, I'm fine." She replied. "My stomach probably didn't agree with the mushrooms."

Eevee nodded unconvinced. She was the Queen of Weird. And _this_ was _most definitely_ weird. She looked over at Alice, who was looking rather beat after the whole ordeal, and went to pick her up.

"Okay, Princess, I think that's enough excitement for one day. Let's get you to bed." She said as she heaved the little girl onto her hip. But Alice revolted.

"No! I'm not tired!" she pouted and tried breaking away from Eevee.

"Alice, come on, it's your bed time."

"No!" she squealed once again and hung with half her little body in the air as she tried getting away from Eevee.

Sarah got up and took her from Eevee. "Alice, I'm also pretty tired, if I go to sleep with you, will you be good and go beddy-bye?" she asked Alice, trying not to sound too serious. Alice looked up at Sarah, and saw the look on her face. She really did look tired, even a three year old could see that. And after what had just happened, she wasn't quite sure what to think about her hero. Besides, Alice could never say no to Sarah.

"Okay…" she said and looked down sadly.

"Good girl." Sarah said relieved as she held her closer and winked at Eevee. She was feeling drained after just having to vomit her gut out for no apparent reason. And just as she thought of it, she remembered why.

How did these two know of the Goblin King?

_Oh, stop it, Sarah._ She thought. _It is a book, after all. Anyone could have read it. The difference is, none of the others were stupid enough to make the same mistake you did._ But even so… Even if Eevee did read the book, she didn't like the idea of Alice being exposed to the story just yet. She'd long since learned that knowledge of that kind could be catastrophic to an ignorant mind and an unknowing mouth...

Alice tugged at the scarf around her neck for amusement, and the stripes on it reminded her of little Toby's pajamas. She would have to watch it. She might just find herself back there again…

And with that, she made her way upstairs to put Alice to bed.


	4. Chapter 4: Be Careful What You Wish For

**I do not own The Labyrinth. It, with all its associated characters, is ©Jim Henson.**

**Sorry it took so long to get on with it! I prepared a few chapters to keep you busy. Here's Ch. 4!**

**4. Be Careful What You Wish For**

Feigning sleep, Sarah managed to fool Alice into slumber. Once she saw the toddler sleeping peacefully, she got out of bed and made her way downstairs. Eevee was watching cartoons on TV, sitting slumped over almost the entire sofa when Sarah came in and joined her.

"Kiddy go beddy-bye?" Eevee asked her as she moved over to make space.

"Yeah, I was kind of surprised when she refused. She's never disobedient." Sarah sighed.

"Hmmmmmmmmmmmm… The imperfections, they peek through." Eevee grunted sarcastically. But it was true. Everyone had their faults, the Petersons included. And Sarah was sure that having everyone think that they were so perfect put a lot of pressure on them to live up to society's expectations.

"Well, every sculpture's got a crack somewhere." She replied. And they continued watching television.

It was around 10PM when a horrible scream came from upstairs, making the girls jump of fright. Sarah jolted upstairs to the bedroom to find Alice in her bed crying profusely.

"Oh, dear. What's wrong, sweetie? You have a bad dream?" she asked as she sat down next to the little bundle in her bed. When suddenly, out of nowhere she felt a hard blow to her face.

"You promised you'd come sleep with me, Sawah!" Alice screamed.

Sarah was shocked. She sat staring at Alice, trying to figure out who she was. Because the Alice she'd known for the past ten months was surely not this little spoiled monster. Eevee sat down on the other side of the bed and petted the toddler.

"Alice, dear, Sarah woke up and came downstairs because she couldn't get back to sleep. She didn't leave you." She tried consoling. But Alice would have none of it.

"You're lying! You're lying!" she screamed as she fell back in her bed and kicked her blankets off, making the girls scatter for safety.

Sarah rushed over again and tried to calm her down, but Alice kept screaming and crying, and Eevee was growing tired of it. No child deserves the right to throw such a tantrum, and such a particular tantrum would not be tolerated.

"Alice! Be quiet, right now! You should be ashamed!" she commanded loudly, her usually childlike voice suddenly not as charming. Alice froze and stared at her, tears still beading up in her eyes.

"Do you know what happens to little girls who behave badly?" Eevee started, and Sarah immediately got a churning feeling in her gut. But before she could get her wits about, her friend continued: "They get taken away by the Goblin King, and are turned into nasty little goblins themselves. Be careful." She said.

Sarah felt her heart sinking again. _Oh no, Eevee. Don't do this…!_

"You're lying…!" Alice moaned, and started crying again- her little body jerking with every forced sob. Sarah had to intervene and stop this madness. Alice was tired and grouchy, and would be exhausted by her little show soon enough.

"Okay, okay. Let's calm down now. I'm sorry I got out of bed, Alice." She said as she stroked the little girl's hair from her tear-sodden face. The toddler looked up at her and sniffled as Sarah gave her a hug.

"Are you alright now?" she asked, and Alice nodded.

"I'm tired, Sawah." She said as wiped her little eyes.

"Pfft. No surprises there." Eevee sneered from the corner of the room. Sarah spat a dirty look at her. _Don't you start…_ She thought. This night has been far too eventful and unpleasantly nostalgic for her taste. She lay Alice back down and tucked her in, giving her a peck on the forehead before leaving the room. Alice drifted off almost immediately, and once outside, Sarah breathed out a huge sigh of relief.

She went downstairs, where Eevee was already clearing the toys scattered over the floor, and gave her a hand. She was burning to ask her about her knowledge of the Goblin King, but thought it wise to just shut up.

"Well that was exciting." Eevee said dryly. "Not so perfect tonight, is she…"

Although tonight had been so packed with surprises, Sarah couldn't help but understand. Alice was only a baby, and no baby was going to be perfect and prim every second of the day. Alice barely ever blew out the way she did, and having a younger brother of her own, Sarah knew it was to be expected at least once in a while. Even if the child was practically a saint in a frilly Tinkerbell dress for the most part.

"You know, Sarah. Seeing that part of Alice kind of put me off… I think I'm going to call it a night and head on home. I'll see you in the morning, then?" Eevee asked in a retired tone.

"Sure, watch yourself on the way home."

Eevee picked up her beige bag of black holes, and made her way to the door before turning around: "Good luck with the lass. If its any consolation, if she's going to be like this for the rest of the night I really do wish the Goblin King would come take her away – right now."

Sarah felt her entire world shatter to little pieces, but before she could even fully conceive what had been said, the entire house fell suddenly dark and eerily silent. Her heart pounded, small beads of sweat were rapidly forming on her now ice cold skin. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move, she couldn't even think as her mind raced with flashbacks of years before. Her heart felt as though it had been suddenly nabbed from her chest without a trace.

"That's weird." Eevee wondered aloud. "Where'd the lights go?"

_Eevee, what have you done…? Come on, Sarah! Get yourself together! Alice is in trouble! _She thought to herself a few times over. _MOVE, DAMN IT!_

Then – without warning – her feet unbolted from the living room floor and automatically started racing upstairs on their own accord with every muscle in her body straining to skip four, even five steps at once to get to the top. She struck open the door to Alice's bedroom, and went cold at the realization that it was empty.

"Sarah!" Eevee panicked at her friend's sudden change of behavior. She followed her into the room, and upon seeing Alice missing, breathed out a sigh of impatience.

"Alright, Alice. Come out, come out wherever you are..." she said as she checked under the bed. But the girl was gone. "Oh, really now! You'd think she'd at least…" she trailed off as she saw Sarah's face. "Sarah, what's going on?"

Sarah desperately wished she knew what to say, so that Eevee wouldn't think she was insane. But what else could she say, other than "Your wish came true"? She had to get Alice back, and if it meant having to face _HIM_ again, so be it. In the past five or so years she'd refused to even _think_ of His name, trying to banish Him from her life altogether. She had never thought that she would have to face Him again.

_You beat him once, Sarah. You can do it again._

Despite her fear mere moments before, Sarah felt a sudden surge of confidence come over her.

_That's it. I've done it before - I can just do it again._ She thought. Though it was of utter importance not to underestimate His power, and probably of even more importance to not underestimate His tongue.

"Be careful what you wish for, Evelyn." She said expressionlessly, and with that made her way to the window- bracing herself for what was to come.

She opened the window and stepped back, took a deep breath, closed her eyes and savored her last moments of sanity.

Her mouth opened: "Goblin King! Get your ass over here!"

Eevee's jaw nearly broke clean off. That was it. That was the last bit of proof she needed - Sarah was a total loon. _It was just a joke, for the love of--!_

But her train of thought was interrupted by a flash of lightning and thunder, followed by a different noise coming from outside. A snow-white barn owl fluttered through the window, circling above them a few times. Eevee, bewildered at the sudden development, let out a yelp and a few panicked cries in an attempt to scare the animal out. But she soon noticed that Sarah was standing dead still, her eyes merely following the owl's movement.

Not a moment later, the owl swooped over the bed, and in mid air seemed to transform into the shadow of a man; landing in the pool of moonlight streaming in from the window in front of them. Through the darkness, she could make out wild blonde hair, and pointed dark shoulder pads that flowed into a long tattered cape illuminated by the light coming from behind.

Evelyn felt faint.

The silhouette stood mysterious and intimidating.

And Sarah stood fast, with her fists clenched.

"Hello, Jareth."


	5. Chapter 5: The Return of the Goblin King

**I do not own The Labyrinth. It, with all its associated characters, is ©Jim Henson.**

**5. The Return of the Goblin King**

Sarah's mind was racing, despite her cool demeanor. Her brain attacked her with memories. Memories of Toby, of her family, of Merlin, and of how Jareth made an almost exact same appearance all those years before. But though her thoughts were spinning, she kept calm and looked Jareth straight in the eye. She couldn't afford to show weakness now, not after summoning him herself. And definitely not after she had defeated him once before.

"Tsk, tsk, Sarah, dear. You know my rules by now. Once you make the wish…" Jareth retorted and in the darkness, she could see an arrogant smile form. She knew exactly what kind of expression was on his face, even through the obscurity of the shadows. He probably had that same arrogant, satisfied, smoldering look in his eyes. The one he always had when she played into his hands.

"I'll do it again. I'll run the Labyrinth." She said abruptly.

Jareth chuckled a low, spiteful laugh and paced forward, but Sarah still stood her ground.

"This time, Sarah… This time, it isn't your battle to fight." He said, and slowly turned his head toward Eevee, who was silently crapping her screaming-colored tights.

"The child is my responsibility, regardless of who made the wish." Sarah insisted, her voice serious and deep. Jareth was quite surprised by this, but did not show it. Instead, he merely arched one eyebrow and stood back.

"Sarah, beware. You know the perils of the Labyrinth, you should not think so lightly of it, for you know far less than you would like to believe." He said, meeting her serious tone. "Now I say it again: This is not your battle. Go home, get in your bed and sleep." He said poisonously.

Eevee, still in a flat-spin, stood up on her shaky legs. She had faced many things, but this was just…

"Who are you?" she demanded with more courage than she truly felt. "Do you have Alice? If you do, I'd advise you to return her at once." She could feel the sweat dripping down the back of her neck.

Jareth and Sarah both stared in amazement before the Goblin King broke out in laughter. He turned to face her, allowing Sarah to let out the breath she'd been silently holding.

"You were the one who called for my aid, my dear. You should know fair well who I am." He said, tilting his head down slightly and staring at her from underneath his brow. Sarah knew that look all too well. She suddenly felt the urge to kick him in the crotch, but thought it better to imagine it for now.

Eevee was confused, and played the events of the evening out in her head once before she realized what the situation was. Her eyes widened, and her mouth was agape as Jareth paced toward her – becoming more visible with every step. Only then could she make out the slight point in the shell of his ear, and the heavily angular features in his face. She gulped.

"Y-You're- G-Gob-…" she stuttered.

"The Goblin King, Jareth." Sarah finished. "A name you used far too eagerly tonight." She admonished, washing a look of sheer terror onto Eevee's face. Jareth fell silent for a moment, then smirked and turned back to Sarah.

"Ah, yes… But a name you have used far too little over the years, dear, precious Sarah." He teased as he neared her.

"Yours is not exactly a name I'd use willingly." She replied bitterly.

"Sarah, Sarah. You can't possibly resent me for what happened. After all, it was your wish… And your wish – your every wish… was my command." A wave of what Sarah could have sworn was humanity swept over his face for a moment, making her rather uncomfortable. He was too close. She stepped back, not breaking his gaze.

"Will you give me the chance to run the Labyrinth, please?" she asked, trying to stick to the point. His face expressionless, he stood upright. He blinked, scanned her for a moment and then turned to the window where he leaned on the windowsill.

"Sarah, I have already told you that this is not your problem -"

"I'll do it." Eevee's voice interrupted. "I'll do it, it was my wish, after all. Please give me a chance?"

"Eevee don't be ridiculous, you don't know what you're letting yourself in for!" Sarah pleaded. "Jareth just let me do it."

Jareth was growing irritable by now. He was not exactly fond of the idea of Sarah in the Labyrinth again. But he knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't back down. He turned around to face them, and as he did so, the dark bedroom melted away around them. In a flash they were in the Underground, just as before, all those years ago. Except this time, Sarah had a friend along for the ride.

Before she could object, Jareth spoke:

"Sarah, you know the rules of my Labyrinth. I trust you will stick to them and inform your friend. You have thirteen hours to reach the Castle." He walked toward her, until they were so close that she could see the tiny patterns in his golden shirt-buttons. "But I advise you to turn back while you can." He bent over and whispered to her: "You should not have to take the responsibility for the ignorance of others on your own shoulders."

Sarah swallowed, feeling uneasy about his sudden closeness. But nonetheless, she looked up at him, her eyes bright green just as he remembered them. "I have to when an innocent young life is at stake." She said, determined.

With that, Jareth paced back slowly, not looking away from her – disappearing into the air as he always did. "Very well, dear Sarah… Such a pity." And he was gone.


	6. Chapter 6:Journey into the Known Unknown

**I do not own The Labyrinth. It, with all its associated characters, is ©Jim Henson.**

**6. Journey Into the Known Unknown **

Eevee was in awe. She stumbled toward Sarah, her mouth wide open at the spectacular view before her.

The Labyrinth lay stretched out before them in all its golden glory; its thousands of stone and hedge passages squiggling across the scene in every wayward direction with the Goblin City as wonky-looking as ever beyond it. And in the distance, Jareth's Castle stood proud - its towers like spires protruding from stone - with the rising sun shining directly upon it, as if accentuating Sarah's goal. Even though it was impossible to remember every detail of this colossus maze, Sarah somehow still saw that it had changed.

"Come on. We only have thirteen hours to get to the Castle over there and save Alice. If we don't, Jareth will turn her into a goblin." Sarah mentioned nonchalantly as she skied down the earthen slope. Eevee hurried after her.

"Wait, what? He can't do that!" she exclaimed in anger.

"Actually, he can, thanks to you." Sarah replied, and stopped to pick up a nearby branch.

Eevee bit her bottom lip out of guilt. She knew she had to somehow get little Alice back. It was all her fault.

"Poor little Alice." Tears formed in her eyes. "She must be terribly upset. If the King does anything to hurt her –…"

"He won't." Sarah said matter-of-factly. "Jareth is a lot of things, but he's not heartless."

Eevee was shocked that Sarah could say such a thing about the man who had taken Alice hostage. An innocent child – how was she so sure that he would not hurt her? And then it struck her. _How does she even know him in the first place?_

Nearing the bottom, Sarah waited for Eevee to catch up.

"Sarah… How do you know of all this?" Eevee asked suspiciously. Sarah looked up at her and helped her down the last steep bit. She knew it was inevitable that Eevee would want to know. She sighed.

"First, tell me how you know of the Goblin King." She said peeking at her from the corner of her eye. Then, the small girl started digging in her massive bag. Shortly after, she pulled out a small red book.

_I should have known._ Sarah thought. "Alright." She said. "Where to begin?"

And so Sarah started telling Eevee the story of how she ended up in the Labyrinth the first time while making their way to the entrance gate. Walking along the seemingly never-ending wall, she remembered the fairies and Hoggle, who was harassing them, and felt a tingling of sadness in her heart. _It's been so long… I wonder how they all are?_ She thought subconsciously, all the while stunning Eevee's mind with her story.

She told her of how Jareth threw a snake in her face, and of the nasty little goblins who teased her. Eevee felt her brain melt.

When they reached the gate, Sarah looked around for a way to open it. This time, there was no Hoggle to magically open it for her. She neared it, and slid her fingers over the dusty surface.

The big, heavy doors creaked slowly open. Sarah stood back, and couldn't help but smile. A small part of her was actually glad to be back. She knew it was just her stupid sentimentality that was making her feel this way, and she gulped it down to face reality: Hoggle was gone, no doubt carrying on with his life somewhere in the Goblin City… that's if he could keep his hiney out of trouble long enough to avoid the Bog. And so were the others. No one was going to help her and make the experience a fairy tale like last time. She was alone with Eevie, who was completely oblivious to the true danger she was facing. She had to make this quick, for the sake of both the girls she was responsible for.

The girls stepped inside warily, peeking around.

The narrow, dank stone passage seemed to stretch on and on into oblivion on either side of them, becoming misty and obscure nearing the horizon. Sarah could hear a faint yelp escape Eevee's throat.

"Rule Number One of the Labyrinth." She started, looking at her friend over her shoulder. "Never, ever take anything for granted." And she started walking down the same way she had the first time. Eevee followed her, and so began their adventure into the Labyrinth.


	7. Chapter 7: How to Deal

**I do not own The Labyrinth. It, with all its associated characters, is ©Jim Henson.**

**I**** thought this would be a cute little insert as I tried thinking of a way to keep Alice in the story (you know, to keep it realistic. Damsels don't just disappear after being kidnapped, after all). It is a bit of a breakaway from the "oh-so-serious"ness of the story so far. That's also why it's so short! Enjoy reading, dears!**

**7. How to Deal**

Jareth stormed into his throne room, kicking scattering goblins out of his way. Alice was in the very same spot that Toby was years ago, crying in a little bundle. Her little Tinkerbell pajama dress had small dirty spots where curious goblins had poked her with their bony little grubby fingers. This was going to be a problem. She was old enough to remember the entire ordeal, should Sarah succeed again. And she was old enough to start judging people for herself. Getting her to cooperate until time had run out would prove to be challenging for the Goblin King who hadn't had a little human prisoner since Toby.

He had to win her trust. But how could he? He sat down in his throne, agitated, and tried thinking of ways to win her over.

He knew that playing with her was the only way. But… She was a girl. Boys were so much easier to comprehend, and so much easier to please. They didn't need dollies and mommy's jewelry to keep them happy. A roll in the mud was just fine.

He looked at the three year old down his nose, with one eyebrow arched as always. What a troublesome situation. He thought. He studied her; she did indeed look like a little princess. She had short blonde curls twirling around her ears and tiny jaw, and big glowing blue eyes like pools of electricity. Her little mouth seemed unnaturally pink and folded into a tiny round little pout. Jareth shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Clean little princesses were the things he was least good at. Sarah was the perfect example, and also a perfect lesson.

He had kept an eye over her for the past few years whenever he felt curious, but tried as far as he possibly could to cast her and her brother out of his mind. Thinking of her made him unusually edgy. And thinking of Toby made him unusually envious. He'd never lost anything before, but that little boy prevailed in taking from him the only thing he ever really wanted to keep. Sour as Jareth was to admit it to himself.

There was one thing he could not resist, however. And that was the urge to see how much Sarah had changed and grown over the years. She'd grown into a woman now. Her features less rounded – well, some features anyway. And her hair was still that same deep brown, yet only slightly longer than it had been before, cut into layers that cascaded over her shoulder blades.

Holding that thought, he whipped out one of his crystals from thin air, and gazed into it trying to spy on Sarah and her friend's progress. Just as he got a visual, he saw something else from the corner of his eye. When he looked, a beautiful blonde little girl with red tear sodden eyes was standing next to him, staring at him with her little mouth open. He looked at her suspiciously, gulping uneasily, and looked at the crystal again. But she wouldn't stop staring at him. He felt a sweat drop trickle from his forehead, and despite his best efforts to focus on the crystal, he peeped at her from the corner of his eye again. She seemed fascinated by him… Which terrified him. He shifted over to the other side of his throne, lounging in his usual position. Still, the girl stared, making even his favorite seating position the most uncomfortable thing in the world. Those eyes…

After another minute or so, Jareth's patience snapped. "What is it, little girl?"

"Can you do magic?" she squeaked.

Jareth's expression relaxed, taken by surprise, he stared back at her for a moment.

"Perhaps I can…" He said as he flicked his wrist and materialized another crystal; "Perhaps I can't." and with another flick of his wrist, it was gone. The little girl stood gob-smacked.

_Perhaps this wasn't going to be too bad, after all_. Jareth thought to himself and smiled at Alice.


End file.
